Smithwick’s Soundtrack Series is back for its first instalment this year with Le Galaxie performing their take on the Apocalypse Now soundtrack. Support on the night comes from DJ Sally Cinnamon.
The gig takes place at Billy Byrnes, Kilkenny on Saturday, February 10th. Tickets priced at €10 are available from Eventbrite.ie.
Posted on January 30th, 2018
Top buzzer DJ, podcaster and Loose Joints co-host Sally picks her 10.
See all the guest selections of 2017 so far.
Possibly my favourite track of the year (although it’s technically a late 2016 track). It’s got it all. Glover’s falsetto hooked me instantly and its sexy groove evokes all kinds of the feels. You may even think it’s an old time classic from The Delfonics or Stylistics. Cool and understated like his awesome TV show Atlanta which is so worth a gander, Glover proves he’s a cat who knows what’s up. This is a stone cold classic.
I don’t think I’ve made a top ten list in the past four years that didn’t have a New Jackson track featured which is testament to the consistency and quality of the music David Kitt is producing. This is just so good.
It’s rare you hear such a solid comeback album from a band over 20 years since their last release and they sound just as good and reassuringly familiar. Slowdive’s fourth studio album Slowdive is a triumph and even if you’re not the biggest fan of shoegazey indie pop you can’t deny either of these tracks, I couldn’t choose between the two. Falling Ashes is a sad and dreamy lullaby that made me cry when I heard it first. Neil Halstead’s voice is as soothing and earnest as ever. Sugar For The Pill is a timeless classic and a mighty reward for jaded fans.
Sudan Archives is a 23-year-old self-taught violinist from Ohio who was signed to Stone’s Throw this year. This hooky number excited me greatly. The weird opening jolts of violin and the line “I can’t jump high but I hear all the notes.” It’s a playful and folky electronic buzz and the video is great too. Filmed in Ghana on her first trip there where she set out to teach young women how to play and record their own music. This lady is just deadly and I’m excited to see how her Stone’s Throw journey leads.
Another Stone’s Throw joint that made the summer more craic in your ears was this one from Washed Out. It’s about meditation I think but for me it’s about having a buzz on your own, clearing your head and getting lost in your own adventure. I listened to this a lot cycling to Seapoint to swim this summer and it brings me very good memories of being happy and enjoying my own company which can be a hard place to get to. That contentment, we take it for granted sometimes.
Having a heavy heart and hearing a sad breakup song does something to you but obviously connects you to a song more than it might usually. Like Childish Gambino I was instantly in love with this track when I heard it. It felt familiar and sad and beautiful. Taken from his album this year Some Twist which is a very sweet a pensive collection of familiar themes; Love, loss and regret.
Amsterdam’s Rush Hour Records unearthed the soulful electronic productions of Senyaka Kekana, a legendary South African musician, actor and comedian who played a key role in the development of kwaito in the mid 90s. Though originally released on his 1987 album Fuquza (Dance), this is the first time that both this track and its deeper A-side ‘Bayanyonyoba’ will see press on a 12” vinyl single.
Kaja is a new project from Dublin’s beloved GOODTIME John. It’s a very different beast and a fantastic and exciting one. Three of Dublin’s best musicians live in Sweden now raising their families and sending home delicious music. Dublin is never better at Christmas time when all the greats come home. The Redneck Manifesto gig on Jan 13th in Whelan’s is where all the love will be felt this year.
Props to Clare Beck for the heads up on this remix, I’ve been playing it out non stop. Prince of Tears was released in October of this year and it is a melancholy, angry and in parts funny ode to heartache. I’m not sure if I’d like him as much if I wasn’t such a fan of his father (Ian Dury), who’s influence is fairly prominent in Baxter’s music. Jarvis Cocker’s jib makes this quite the cheeky tune.
It’s hard to describe how I felt when I saw and heard this piece for the first time. It’s an achingly beautiful 14-minute journey that leaves you full of wonder. The video seems as integral as the “six-movement suite” itself. I was lucky enough to catch his live show this year in the Concert Hall and it was magical. In a year of heightened social/racial injustice, exposed abuses of power and ‘fake news’, Kamasi brings the Truth!!!
See all the guest selections of 2017 so far.
Posted on December 18th, 2017
Loose Joints is a podcast where we talk to a guest and play music they like new and old. True to the name, the podcast features a loose collection of tunes, tied together by very little logic, just like our chats. Nialler9 and Sally Cinnamon are your hosts.
Another Love Story is the perfect gathering. A festival in a manor house in Meath where the audience was as integral to the vibe as the music and happenings. Lovingly organised with thoughtful programming (it finishes at 6.30 on a Sunday so it feels different to others) with attention to details down to the aesthetic of the bins.
Part of its intimacy extends to the library and front room where talks and performances happen and a sprinkle of spontaneity hangs in the air. Donal Lunny might show up and lead a folk club, your mate might start being a literal windowlicker when you’re recording a podcast as what happened when Loose Joints did a live recording of the pod with guests Conor O’Brien (Villagers) and Richie Egan (Jape).
Giddy tunes, Skin flutes, cowboy trousers, artists who are doses or not, dubstep remixes, being overshadowed by your duet collaborator, how to have a casual conversation with Bjork and outlier electronica are just some of the things we covered in our hour. Special thanks to Siobhan Kane for having us down in the Library and to the Another Love Story audience in the room and beyond.
Download: Loose Joints Podcast: Live at ALS with Conor O’Brien & Richie Egan(1 hour)
A song that makes you feel giddy
Ponyo Theme Song (Richie)
Paul Simon – Wristband (Conor)
New music picks
Aldous Harding – Imagining My Man? (Sally)
Alex Cameron & Angel Olsen – Stranger’s Kiss (Niall)
Burnt Out – Dear James (Conor)
Lanark Arterfax – Touch Absence (Richie)
A song from your favourite festival experience
Dungen – Festival (Richie)
A post festival comedown song or album
Águas de Março by Antonio Carlos Jobim sung by Elis Regina (Conor)
A song from your favourite festival experience
Solange – Cranes In The Sky (Conor)
A song you wish you’d written
Bjork – History of Touches (Richie)
New music picks
Moon King – In & Out (Sally)
Wah Wah Wino – Paco’s Ode (Niall)
Johanna Warren – Figure 8 (Conor)
Lutto Lento – Gyal A Devil (Richie)
A post festival comedown song or album
William Basinski – Disintegration Loops 1 (Richie)
A song you wish you’d written
Big Star – Thirteen (Conor)
Kendal Johannson – Blue Moon (Niall)
Also available in Stitcher, PocketCasts and TuneIn.
Photos: Allen Kiely.
#9: Live at Science Gallery – Sample special
#8: Cian Murphy ( I Am The Cosmos)
#7:Greg Spring
#6: Gib Cassidy.
#5: Best of 2016 with May Kay.
#4: Aisling Rogerson
#3: Emmet Kirwan.
#2: Oisin Davis.
#1: Aidan Kelly.
Posted on August 23rd, 2017
One of the arguments that you’ll often hear from male DJs and producers in response to the call for more female acts on festivals and stages of the music world is that women have the same opportunities as men so therefore they must either – a) don’t like music b) don’t have the desire to make it.
While that rhetoric is downright insulting in the first place, it glosses over the truth that men are in a more privileged position – there is precedence in their peers and history and they have more opportunities.
Women who do try get into DJing or music have to contend with the lads questioning their motives, mansplaining their track choices, dismissing their abilities, putting them in their place or presuming their looks outweigh their interest and talent. As a man, no-one has ever told me I couldn’t become a DJ but every woman that I know who is a DJ, has multiple stories of men doing the above. if you don’t believe me – ask them. I’m sick of seeing half the population of the world not represented as much as the other half – why aren’t you?
While I do believe that promoters and those in positions of power have to be conscious of the bias in gender when booking and consider other gender categorisations (on MERIT first, not quota-filling), the biggest change happens I believe, at the ground level, when a woman (or transgender, non-binary person for that matter) is encouraged to give DJing a go in a safe space, without judgement and with encouragement.
It’s something addressed in the above This Greedy Pig produced short-documentary Move The Needle by Joni – “there’s something about it when there’s a bunch of guys standing around it, you automatically feel like it’s not for you.” The film features some of the inspiring women who DJ and produce including ELLLL, Aoife Nic Canna, Cailín, Joni and my Loose Joints podcast cohost Sally Cinnamon.
Move the Needle is a series of free workshops by Gash Collective who do just that. Their workshops take place in Galway, Cork, Dublin and Belfast and are aimed at women who want to learn in a space like this. Each workshop will provide an introduction to using CDJs and turntables, beatmatching and Ableton production with leading female Irish producers, DJs and trained teachers. Featuring members of the Gash Collective and other leading figures from the industry, such as ELLLL, Eve, Lolz, Marian Hawkes and Aoife Nic Canna.
Smirnoff are involved as part of their “Equalizing Music” campaign which is working towards the promotion of the idea of doubling female headliners by 2020. Sign up to the below workshops at TGP.
Workshops:
DJ and Production Skills Workshop
3pm – 7pm, Sunday, 18th June
Galway Arts Centre
DJ and Production Skills Workshop
3pm – 7pm, Saturday, 22nd July
Wandesforth Gallery
DJ and Production Skills Workshop
3pm – 7pm, Saturday, 15th July
Catalyst Arts
DJ and Production Skills Workshop
3pm – 7pm, Saturday, 12th August
The Tara Building
Posted on June 14th, 2017
“Be the buzz you want to have.”
So says EXs, the new club night starting in Button Factory tomorrow night (Saturday April 15th), in a “a two room buzz inspired by parties we weren’t born for and clubs in cities we don’t live in. The likes of Paradise, Gargage, Studio 54, Panorama Bar and the Hacienda.”
Presented by Nine Crows + Studio Drop (Drop Everything’s Mary Nally), expect “a celebration of friendship, strangers, lovers, music, dressing up, heading out and Ireland now.”
The Exs club night is posting style ideas on Instagram for the night (Optional dress code – Neon orange and black are prominent) and on the music front, DJs playing on the night are:
Main room – Byron Yeates, Frank B & Breen (DDR)
Bar – Sally Cinnamon & Greg Spring (This Greedy Pig)
Tickets via Dice app or Eventbrite from €12+.
Sally put together a playlist of sounds from her DJ playlists to give you an idea of what EXS will be like sonically. It features Orange Tree Edits, New Jackson, Chance, Long Island Sound, The Eagles, Midland, Jaakko, Eino Kalevi, Stretch, Black Madonna and more. Get in on with your EXS playlist.
Posted on April 14th, 2017
Sally Cinnamon is a Dublin-based DJ and my cohost on our newly-formed Loose Joints Podcast (Subscribe), where you may have heard some of these tracks previously.
See all the top 10 tracks of 2016 guest selections.
Only heard it this month and it stopped me in my tracks. Two of the sweetest voices together, Vile & Sandoval are evoking all the sultry passions of Kris Kristofferson & Rita Coolidge’s Help Me Make It Through The Night. This was a late find but makes the list for me.
Such slick groove from Lower Dens, 80s synthy shoegazey pop at it’s finest. It would certainly fit nicely on the Twin Peaks or Stranger Things soundtrack this year. Check out the video if you’re in the market for a cool new girl crush.
Speaking of girl crushes, the long awaited follow up to Passenger did not disappoint. I don’t think Lisa has ever sounded stronger, he voice is sublime throughout. heard this for the first time in Clonmel during the summer in the church with the band and I got shivers. She and the band have nailed something really special here, it needs to be seen live to be believed. Her talent is boundless, she continues to blow my mind more than any other Irish female.
Although nothing else on his album jumped out at me or even sounds like this track, there’s a timelessness to this. It’s so groovy and dreamy I absolutely love it.
If ever there was an album proving an artist is going from strength to strength it’s this one. It delivers in every way. I fell in love track after track but ‘Love Me In Whatever Way’ was my first love. He’s just untouchable.
Kaytranada and Anderson Paak stole the show for me this year album wise. I was blown away. Cover to cover this delivered entirely. Everyone I gave it to fell for it’s addictive and hooky charms. Many’s a kitchen dance I had to this, what more could you want form an album?
Genuinely cannot pick a favourite on the album. I don’t think I enjoyed an album more this year, between this and Kaytranada. It’s an absolute gem form start to finish. Whittled down to these two as they had the most number of plays, in de clurb.
Probably the track I played the most at my gigs. It’s got absolutely everything. There’s nothing else you need to say about it. It’s an absolute gem.
Another one I loved from the opening riff. So slick, so sexy. Love this dude’s vibe even though the album was slightly disappointing considering how awesome this track is. Let’s hope he’s got more in him.
Exceptional cover of Link Wray’s 1971 track which Blau brings his own magic entirely to. Guest features include Jim James (My Morning Jacket) and Laura Veirs. It’s a choric dream from start to finish.The message is heavy and sad but there is something so joyous about it too. I know I’m gonna always love this tune.
Posted on December 13th, 2016
Loose Joints is new podcast hosted by Nialler9 and Sally Cinnamon talking to people about the music they love: old and new.
In our second episode (see episode one), we are joined by booze enthusiast Oisin Davis of Great Irish Beverages (incorporating Irish Cocktail Fest, Irish Whiskey Fest and Irish Gin & Tonic Fest) and the creator of Poacher’s Tonic.
We talk about Oisin’s New Jersey upbringing, grown men crying over beautiful songs stuck in traffic, what it’s like to support Grandmaster Flash, the beauty of a basso profundo voice – the lowest you can get, a Hard Working Class Heroes highlight, the tune Oisin would like his kids to associate with him and a couple of Belfast bangers.
Also available in Stitcher, Pocket Casts and TuneIn.
Download: Loose Joints Podcast #2: Oisin Davis (103MB, 1hr 46mins)
Special thanks to Sean Corcoran for facilitating recording.
Posted on October 12th, 2016
Interlude Festival took place last October in the RHA Gallery and this year it’s back and expands to three days over five gallery rooms with an outdoor block party, outdoor courtyard and three stages, food garden, cinema & record store plus a craft beer bar and a cocktail bar. Interlude happens from Friday 24 – Sunday 26 June.
Lined up for the event is:
Nialler9 will be curating a stage on the Sunday which will include Cian O’Ciobhain, Bad Bones and more.
A limited number of early bird weekend tickets for the festival go on sale this Wednesday at 9am priced €49 plus booking fee from Ticketmaster.ie. General Weekend tickets priced €69 plus booking fee will go on sale this week from Ticketmaster.ie and outlets nationwide.
Posted on April 12th, 2016
Sally Cinnamon is brilliant DJ and a top shelf buzzer based in Dublin. Catch her on Sunday at the Odessa Christmas party. She co-hosts a show on Radiomade from 6pm-8pm Wednesday. Here are top 10 tracks of the year as part of the Best of 2015 series.
I came across this guy on Soundcloud two months ago and it’s been on heavy rotation ever since, it completely stopped me in my tracks. The amount of instruments he plays on the album is quite impressive too. Trumpet, bass, guitar and flute as well as his beautiful vocals, he’s definitely one to watch. There’s so much Curtis Mayfield-esque magic coming from it that I wouldn’t be surprised that like me, ‘Curtis’ was in his top ten life albums. I wrote to him just days after he released it to say how much I dig his buzz and he was incredibly gracious and seems like a real sound head. I’m excited about seeing how he might approach a live show.
This shoegazey melodic dreamboat of a tune came to me from a pal Neil who’s always known exactly what I like. It’s from a little known Texas based band who are obsessed with Thai Funk and Psychedelic rock from Asia mostly. Recorded in a barn in the middle of the country side this album developed it’s sound from the tapes they listened to in the car on their way to recording each day. They said “This is the first song with lyrics we’ve ever written. We never really thought of ourselves as having a ‘singer’ but we knew that we wanted a voice for Khruangbin”. I’m really glad they’ve found their voice. I know I will love this track forever. The album is a total trip, a smoker’s delight.
I’m incredibly proud of my pal Sorcha McGrath and got shivers when I heard this first. We all panic about love, not many of us can make it sound this cool though. McGrath says of her aim with her solo project Wounded Healer “I see so much polarising in the world around us, with such a concentration on making a villain of the ‘other’, so I want to embrace both sides to begin the process of understanding that we are all these things. These songs are about noticing these patterns and making changes from within.”
This beautiful album cast the soundtrack to some lovely memories this year for me. That fantastic Electric Picnic gig for one. There’s absolutely nothing I don’t love about Conor O’Brien.
On a trip to New York in 2012, Monika, a Greek native, made a pilgrimage to Daptone Records’ Brooklyn headquarters, to see where some of her favourite artists recorded – from Sharon Jones to Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson. Almost on a whim, Monika knocked on the door, and Homer Steinweiss (founding member of the Dap-Kings & Menahan Street Band) answered. Soon she was playing demos she had on her phone for Homer and Thomas Brenneck (MSB, Budos Band, etc). The connection was immediate, and the next stage of Monika’s career began. This is hooky pop-funk gem is very very satisfying.
I know very little about this Polish duo who make deliciously spacey Balearic tunes with a hint of steamy 80s nostalgia, I do know though that I like it a lot.
I’ve been a fan of this guy for a while but I only had the an EP to go by, I was very much looking forward to his first album. It didn’t disappoint but didn’t pack the same punch the EP had for me. ‘Double Talk’ is a total trip, I absolutely love it.
‘Made up of a sprawling network of shanty-towns and night shelters, day-to-day life in the city is far from easy, but the band don’t want sympathy. Tired of pre-conceptions around African music, Mbongwana Star (‘Mbongwana’ means ‘change’) are creating their own identity, fusing traditional Congolese rhythms with post punk and electronics inspired by life in the townships around them, “making magic out garbage” says producer and band member Doctor L (who produced Tony Allen’s ‘Black Voices’ album). The result is revolutionary. This isn’t an African band per se. It’s a trans-global barrier-busting sound machine.’
Lamar’s Pimp To A Butterfly has been nominated for 11 Grammy awards this year was the first album of his that I paid attention to I gotta admit. It’s an incredibly powerful collect of conscious and observant numbers that highlight the social injustice, racial tension, hypocrisy and of course Love. Lamar himself describes the album as “Honest, fearful and unapologetic.” King Kunta is my favourite track from the album. I defy you to stand still when this track is playing, it’s completely infectious.
I had so much fun dancing to this album this year but this track stood out in particular for major dance vibes. I must have played it at nearly every gig I did since it came out. Delightfully fun tune that refuses to let you sit down and nod along to. It’s a floor filler for sure. Thank you La Priest.
Posted on December 14th, 2015
Sally Foran was everywhere a good party was had in 2014: from Body & Soul to Drop Everything to house parties to special events in galleries and beyond. A chief buzzer with a great record collection and knowledge, you can catch Sally’s radio show on Wednesdays at 4pm on Radiomade.
Sally found it difficult to distil her favourites to a top 10, always a good sign. Here they are:
I’m in love with this track. Its synths, melatron and those lazy sexy waves of sax at the end. It’s simply delicious. The lyrics are goofy but he means it all the same. It’s got that velvety timelessness that The Bees ‘I Love You’ holds that commands your attention and stops you in your tracks. Saxy vibes from Canada, who knew says you!
First prize for awesome and most apt band name for 2014 as far as I’m concerned. This lovely 45 comes courtesy of Stone’s Throw Records and I can’t think of a better label to represent their sound on this track. The sleeve of the 45 is a sheet of acid and it’s definitely somewhat trippy. The pace is gorgeous, it’s a slow-dancing stoner’s dream.
Alex Chase brings us a lovely blend of his Mauritian and English roots with his album Mo Kolours. It’s thoughtful, it’s reflective but it’s also playful and really really groovy. His use of percussion is joyous and never overdone, a beautiful sunny holiday album all round.
I heard this track this summer and it was all I wanted to accompany me on smiling sunny strolls. It was instantly familiar, reminded me so much of early St Etienne which I loved so much as a late teen, it delivered fond and welcomed sentiment for me. I love the licks and and the Françoise Hardy-esque vocals, pure girl crush fodder.
Lost In a Dream gives us everything you want from groovy grown up rock’n’roll. I managed to see them at Primavera which made my summer complete. Surrounded by nearest and dearest and on the ocean, it’s pretty much the only way to see your favourite bands and hear your albums of the year. The only other band that ever made me spazz out as much as I did at this gig was The Redneck Manifesto (R.I.P)
I met Sinkane frontman Ahmed through an NY buddy in Glasslands, Brooklyn last November. He DJ’d the best set I’d danced to that winter, all the lovely stuff I love the most was played so I wasn’t at all surprised I’d like his album as much as I do and his live show ten fold. They’re as tight as a duck’s arse and the energy and light show in Opium Room’s a few weeks back made it one of my favourite gig’s of the year.
I’ve had this on heavy rotation since it’s release back in May and can’t quite put my finger on why I like it so much. It’s form and pace are testing in parts, it’s a little bit like a hurried tunnel journey if you will. It encompasses all that i love about electronic music. I haven’t tired of it at all and I’ve well overdone it at this stage.
hands down the most commanding dance track of the year and the most satisfying rise and fall NEW JACKSON has ever treated us to. Kittser’s more on form than ever these days and I love where he’s going with this. If you’re not biting your bottom lip and fist pumping the air three minutes in then my friend you’ve a little problem I’m afraid. It’s an absolute classic, I’ve no doubt I’ll love dancing to it and will be playing it for years to come.
Although this great effort from Vince Clarke doesn’t hold the timelessness that Seasons or A Dream Of You And Me might, and although I doubt it will age very well either, I still hold massively fond memories of dancing to this remix in 2014. You can hear the ghosts of Yazoo and Erasure strongly throughout but the production is perfect and it’s simple bass line platforms Samuel T. Herring’s heart warming vocal beautifully.
There a lot about the original that makes it sketchy when you play it in a loud and busy club so there’s really nothing else quite like the feeling you get when someone makes it super DJ friendly and maximises all your favourite bits. A fantastic contribution from Dublin’s techno hardshaw Mano Le Tough and the Berlin based A Tale of Us. This year has been particularly memorable for Dublin ravers, DJs and buzz fiends alike but this track definitely stands out as the one everyone is most grateful for. Good man, lads!
Posted on December 19th, 2014
Dublin Quays Festival returns featuring Pillow Queens, Sleep Thieves, The Murder Capital, Robert John Ardiff, Silverbacks and many more
And So I Watch You From A Far, Bitch Falcon, Ryan Vail, Cherym and many more to play final gig at Belfast’s Mandela Hall
22 gigs, clubs and performances to see in Cork this weekend
Review: Getting back to nature at Meadows In The Mountains
Beatyard add Daniel Avery, Andrew Weatherall, New Jackson, Jacques Greene and Sean OB to this year’s lineup
10 must-see Irish acts @ Body&Soul Festival this year
The best gigs and clubs in Dublin this week
Julian Casablancas & The Voidz announce Dublin show
Villagers to headline and curate a night at Metropolis Festival
Win tickets to Body&Soul Festival
